


so familiar a gleam

by Jedi Buttercup (jedibuttercup)



Category: The Last Witch Hunter (2015)
Genre: Dreamsharing, F/M, Post-Canon, Pre-Relationship, Wordcount: 1.000-5.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:55:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27183451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jedibuttercup/pseuds/Jedi%20Buttercup
Summary: It was the first dream of Kaulder's she'd walked that wasn't either a distorted attack from the waking world, or a glimpse of a past long-gone, or both, but they'd always been extraordinarily vivid.
Relationships: Chloe/Kaulder
Comments: 8
Kudos: 30
Collections: Shipoween 2020 - The Halloween Ship Exchange!





	so familiar a gleam

**Author's Note:**

  * For [reeby10](https://archiveofourown.org/users/reeby10/gifts).



> Title from the lyrics of "Once Upon a Dream", from Sleeping Beauty.

"What will happen to this place now?" Chloe asked, reaching out to brush her fingers over one of the raised carvings covering the walls. She hadn't had much time to look at them the first time she'd visited the Witch Council's judgment chamber, just the one Kaulder had wanted her to see. And the second time, they'd been a little too busy to linger.

"A new Council will be chosen," his voice rumbled thoughtfully behind her. "Sooner rather than later, probably. Word'll spread, and everyone'll want to know what happened here."

The texture of the wood felt so real: rough with age and long wear, but also smooth as silk where generations of others had been there before her. She didn't know why that surprised her. It was the first dream of his she'd walked that wasn't either a distorted attack from the waking world, or a glimpse of a past long-gone, or both, but they'd always been extraordinarily vivid.

"You mean, they'll want to know if the peace has been broken," she said, fingertips lingering on the wall as she turned to see his face. She'd been right in the middle of it all, too close to have had time for the luxury of wondering. But what must the events of the last week have looked like to the rest of the world's witches?

Kaulder wasn't wearing either the warrior's garb she'd seen in his eight-centuries-old memories or the suits and rich fabrics he seemed to favour in the modern era; instead, worn jeans and a ribbed, white long-sleeved tee hugged his muscular form like loving hands. He'd always had a kindness about him – when not in the middle of a confrontation – that had surprised her from the start; but this... almost softness was new, and crashed over her like a wave as a wry smile tugged at his mouth.

Oh. Oh _no_. What had she been thinking, taking up the offer of a couch while her place was still in shambles? It had been a long, long time since she'd shared space with anyone she genuinely cared about, and her hormones were definitely waking up and taking notice.

"Oh, there's no doubt about _that_ ," he replied, apparently oblivious to the sudden heat rushing to Chloe's cheeks. "I doubt we've seen the last of the fallout, either; there's no way Belial and Ellic got as far as they did on their own. But how the rest of the community feels about what happened, and how much they'll blame the Axe and Cross; yeah, that's gonna cause some problems. At least I can leave most of that up to the Kid's former colleagues to deal with. Maybe it'll even keep them off my back for a while." 

"You think so?" she managed to reply, returning the smile as he closed the distance between them. "How long d'you think, before someone shows up at your door claiming to be the 38th Dolan?"

Kaulder snorted, grin widening. He had an infectious smile; it lightened his whole face until he almost seemed her age, not an immortal bogeyman who'd featured in her parents' bedtime stories. "I'll let the Kid take care of that. He wants to retire again, he can train the next one himself. Unless, of course, _you_ happen to want the job."

"I said I'd _fight_ witches," Chloe scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Not follow you round taking notes while you did it yourself. That might be an idea, though; find a witch to do the job this time, improve your PR with all those discussion groups. Maybe not one of those locked up under this place, though... what's going to happen to them now, anyway?"

Something about the topic seemed to give him pause; a puzzled frown flitted briefly over his brow. But then he shook his head and kept walking, until there was barely an arm's length of space between them. She could feel the heat of his body even over that distance; he radiated warmth like a furnace, and she doubted all of it was from the Witch Queen's magic.

"Something else, I hope. Locking 'em all up in one place obviously didn't work. But killing 'em would just make more martyrs." The reminder of Dolan 37th soured his expression. "Never thought to ask if rehabilitation might work; didn't really seem like my business. But with all the spells and potions out there, surely something could be done."

Something like... what she was doing right that moment probably, Chloe thought, biting at her lip. Someone who could reach into another's mind and, if they chose to, _twist_.

She wouldn't, of course; even if Kaulder wasn't looking at her like... well, like she was someone worth looking at. But she could, if she wanted. And that thought only added to the shivery sensation growing in her gut. If the original dreamwalkers had been the Witch Queen's lieutenants, and he was the one now carrying the Witch Queen's power, did that mean she _literally_ belonged to him?

She swallowed through a suddenly dry throat. "We'll have to recommend that to the next Council. After you investigate any survivors, of course. I didn't look close, but I don't think all of them were here when it happened."

"Think one of them might have been in on it?" Kaulder asked, raising his brows.

"Seems like an awfully convenient setup for Belial to have just taken advantage of," she shrugged. "A bit above my paygrade, though."

"I don't know about that," he replied, softer smile returning as he met her gaze. "Never really had a partner in this business before, so I think you get to make the rules up as you go along."

Chloe couldn't help smiling back, ridiculously aware of how hard her heart was being in her chest as they stood there together.

Time seemed to stand still for a long moment – but then a faint frown wrinkled Kaulder's forehead again, and his gaze seemed to catch on her shirt. He took a deep, calming breath, then stepped back, warmth fading away like a suddenly-doused fire. "We might have to have one about _this_ , though," he said, clothes suddenly shifting to the dark, unrelieved black he'd donned for the assault on the plague tree.

Chloe blinked in confusion as the mood broke, then glanced down at herself and winced. Sometime after she'd opened her eyes in this place, _her_ clothes had shifted from what she'd worn practically the whole time she'd known him – _rescued from a thrift shop_ , thanks ever so, Danique – to her favourite lounging pyjamas, the ones that made her feel comfortable and sexy both.

Apparently, Kaulder _hadn't_ been as aware of what was going on as she was, and he didn't appreciate her using her gift on him when it wasn't necessary. She'd almost forgot she had to be careful about that, after the last few days of encouragement. But it was one thing to use it against other dark magic, and another to invade an ordinary dream. "I'd apologize, but since I don't even know whose dream this actually _is_...."

"You connected us in your _sleep_?" For some reason, that seemed to startle him; Kaulder's eyes widened, and the shadow of the sword strapped to his back faded away as if it had never been there. For all that he hadn't had one at the start of the dream, it made him seem oddly vulnerable to be without it now, a deliberate disarming rather than an assumption of peace. 

"I know _my_ mental defences could use some work, but yours should have kept that from happening. Unless...." He closed the gap between them again, raising a hand to cup her face, and the feeling of livewire current that leapt through her at the touch made her gasp. 

"Unless....?" she replied, breathlessly.

Shadows flickered through his dark, intent gaze; then he shook his head, thumb still tracing over her cheek. "That word you chose, the first time we came here. The one that reminded you of me."

"Alone?" she remembered, the walls around them trembling as the dream resonated more strongly with the earlier memory. "I don't understand."

He chuckled lowly, voice like honey poured over gravel. "Neither did I, the first time I died. The Witch Queen told me she'd cursed me. To never know peace; to walk the Earth alone for all eternity." 

"But she lied," Chloe said, something breaking within her as he began to pull his hand away. She reached for it, recapturing it between them, thumb brushing against the lifeline on his callused palm.

"Suppose it depends on your perspective," Kaulder said, mouth curving crookedly. "Sure fell out that way, anyway. She didn't say anything this time, though; I didn't give her the chance. Helena did, though," he continued, closing his hand around hers. "Told me to save you. To go back and fight."

"Oh?" she said, blinking at him; then repeated herself as the penny dropped: " _Oh_."

"Suppose it isn't so much a question of how much I trust you, if you already trust me enough for _this_ ," he said, gesturing at the chamber around them as its walls started to dissolve into a grey, pearlescent mist. "Witch and witch-hunter. Suppose there _are_ still new things under the sun."

"And... is that a good thing?" she dared to tease, holding tightly to his hand as the rest of the connection collapsed around them. "Just so I know if I should bolt out of here in hideous embarrassment the moment I wake up, you understand."

He chuckled, then lifted her hand to his mouth as he faded away. "Suppose we'll see," he replied in kind. "Though that might make it a little hard to find out."

Dawn was pouring in through the apartment's windows as she woke, warming the almost museum-like space of Kaulder's living room, and Chloe lay there a little longer, holding the dream close like the blanket wrapped around her. For a moment, she seemed to see a wash of greenery overlaying everything: great pots in the corners, vines climbing along carefully placed screens, a rack of herbs in tiny white cups over by the windows like the ones Belial destroyed in her apartment.

Somewhere within, an ember of warmth seemed to beat in her chest like a second heart. No, it _hadn't_ been just a dream.

She heard a door open somewhere else close by, and sat up, meeting Kaulder's inquisitive gaze as he walked into the room. He'd thrown on a pair of trousers, but not a shirt yet that morning: her favourite look on him yet, as it happened.

"Suppose we'll see," Chloe said, smirking at him. "Though _that_ certainly helps."

The sound of his low, answering chuckle filled her world with hopeful joy.


End file.
